


Countdown

by liz_mo



Category: Back to the Future (Movies)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Parallel Universes, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-21
Updated: 2013-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-05 10:40:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1092918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liz_mo/pseuds/liz_mo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Doc had to wait 13 years until his best friend would even be born.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Countdown

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ivyfic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivyfic/gifts).



> What a great prompt! Wrapping my head around the time travel consequences was headache inspiring but hopefully worth it.  
> Betaed by the absolutely awesome genteelrebel.  
> Happy Yuletide!

_„It's going to be very hard waiting 30 years to talk to you about everything that's happened in the past few days.“_

_Doc Brown_

 

**1985 (2), T minus 1 week**

„Doc!“

„Marty!“

„Doc! Is it ready yet?“ Marty was teeming with excitement as he picked up his skateboard in one smooth move, storming into Emmett's living room bedroom workshop.  
Emmett immediately started to ramble about the physics and that it was very complicated and that it couldn't possibly be ready yet.  
Marty listened impatiently, but Emmett knew that Marty knew being friends with the crazy inventor had it's uses and Marty knew he would get the best amp in the world for it. 

“So when is it going to be ready?” Marty cut across Emmett's ramblings. 

“In a week, Marty! You have to be patient. Each conductor needs about 300 watts and the amplifier …”  
Marty grinned and started to play with Einstein.

Emmett was going to miss this Marty.  
But he really liked the other, too.  
Choosing one over the other was harder than he had thought it would be.  
If he didn't build a time machine right now, this version of Marty would be there to stay. Or would he disappear the moment he was supposed to go back in time, since then his parents would never have met?  
But he had made the decision for the original one.  
Well, it was more like Emmett had decided not to mess with events and do everything he was supposed to do, judging from the brief letter Marty had written him.  
He, Emmett Brown, would not be responsible for the destruction of the space time continuum.  
But then, he'd always thought meeting your own parents would do exactly that.  
It seemed he'd been wrong on that account. 

Emmett's internal clock was ticking harder than all the ones on the walls combined.  
One week to go. 

**1982 (2), T minus 3 years**

“Doc!”

The voice that reached Emmett from his front door while he was stuck inside his newest invention was familiar and he couldn't help himself:

“Marty!”

“What? How do you know my name?” came the still disembodied voice of what Emmett knew was Marty McFly floating towards him.  
For a moment Emmett closed his eyes – finally! - before he started to disentangle himself from the wires.  
But the wires tangled back and soon Emmett felt like that time when he had to rescue Einstein, who had gotten lost in the spare parts storage.

“Who doesn't know Marty McFly, son of famous sci-fi author George McFly? Also I heard that Marty McFly is doing pretty good with his band at Hill Valley High,” Emmett called back.

“You're pretty well informed for an old timer.” Marty's voice was still skeptical but he seemed to have bought the half-truth. 

Emmett breathed a sigh of relief and looked into the tangle of wires in front of him. 

“Great Scott!” That was the solution he'd been looking for! It suddenly all made sense! The conductor needed to be attached to the wiring crosswise and then the poles would have to be...

“What? Where are you? Everything okay?” Marty's voice cut through Emmett's racing thoughts, sounding much closer. 

Emmett had always envisioned that he would meet this version of Marty with poise and dignity, impressing him with his wits and genius.  
Considering that, in three years time, this Marty would cease to exist, Emmett didn't think that he could do much damage. And since he, of course, didn't remember the first version of this meeting, he had hoped that it would be better than him being stuck in a tangle of wires. 

But as so often in his life things didn't quite go as planned - even if the end result was the right one - and so the first thing this version of Marty saw of Doc Emmett Brown was his backside, while Emmett was dangling in a net of wires, trying to gesticulate and getting even more stuck.

Somewhere beneath the spinning thoughts about power and conductors and  
resistance, in Emmett's brain an internal clock began to tick. 

 

**1982 (1), T minus three years and a parallel timeline**

Emmett was awake, but it wasn't 8 am yet. His clocks were still ticking away quietly.  
But something had woken him.  
There, a crash in the back.  
Emmett knew that if he went out to investigate, they would laugh at the crazy inventor and throw things at him.  
As long as the house stayed intact this wouldn't bother him.  
Resolutely Emmett pulled the covers back over his head.

*  
This repeated for the next several weeks.  
Every early, early morning Emmett would be awakened by the same noises.  
Every early, early morning he would turn over and pull the covers back over his head. 

Until the morning the crash didn't come. And Emmett woke just from the absence of the noise.  
The spectacular invention that resulted from his early start of the day was built, tested and soon started to gather dusk in the back corner.  
But for three wonderful months there was blessed silence.  
Until Emmett was again woken at some ungodly hour every single day, except for on weekends.  
That's when he realized that it was now fall, and the three month long blessed silence had been the summer holidays.  
So, a student after all.  
But this would have to stop.  
Reluctantly Emmett threw back the covers and got up.

When he opened the back door he wasn't greeted with a horde of laughing teenagers, though.  
It took him a while to figure out that the disturbance actually came from his roof. 

“Up there! Get down here this instant!”

There were some more crashes and then a teenager in a red vest climbed down from the roof, skateboard in hand.

“Listen, man. I'm sorry, I didn't think anybody lived here.”  
The young man was obviously nervous and didn't seem to be breaking out into laughter anytime soon.  
Still, Emmett was suspicious. 

From somewhere he remembered that you had to be strict with teenagers.

“Get inside! I'm calling your parents! What is your name?”

“Martin McFly! And please don't! Really, I would never have done it, if I’d thought anybody lived here!”

“Done what?” 

“Practiced skateboarding on your roof. You have a great obstacle practice course up there, Mr....?”

“Doctor Emmett Brown,” Emmett answered automatically back over his shoulder as he re-entered the building. 

And turned when no more footsteps followed.  
Martin McFly was looking around with huge eyes, like a kid in a candy store.  
Then he started grinning excitedly. 

“Doc! I can call you Doc, can I? You can call me Marty. This is amazing! Wow, I've never even seen this. What does it do? Can I press the button? I bet it's awesome. Ohh, hello there little fellow? What is your name?”

“Einstein. And please don't touch anything,” Emmett answered, totally out of his depth, while Martin – Marty was petting Einstein enthusiastically.  
Einstein seemed to love it.

Emmett buried his head in his hands. He wasn't going to call any parents anytime soon, was he?

“Doc!” Marty's voice startled him out of his thoughts. 

“Marty!” 

“Doc! You're a million miles away. Come on, you're not going to call my parents, are you?”

With difficulty Emmett concentrated on being stern again.  
“Not if you help me clear up the roof. If there is that much junk up there, I don't want the roof to fall in.”

As Marty's face fell, Emmett couldn't help but add:  
“ And we can see if we can set up an obstacle course in the backyard with the stuff we can find. I'm sure with some applied science I can figure out the exact angle the slopes need to be placed and … What?” 

“You'd do that? That would be awesome! In return I'd walk the dog for you or something.”

As Emmett looked into Marty's hopeful and enthusiastic face, he knew that he would never be able to say no. And that his life had just changed dramatically.  
Whether it was for better or worse would remain to be seen, but for the moment he remained hopeful that it was for the better. 

At least he'd be able to get a decent night’s sleep now. 

 

**1955 (1), T minus 30 years and a parallel timeline**

“Great Scott!”

Burying his head in his hands Emmett Brown sat heavily down on the nearest available flat surface, which happened to be the floor. 

The young man – Marty – was finally asleep.

It was amazing! Meeting ones parents didn't mean a collapse of the space time continuum! There were amazing gadgets in the future all available to just buy, it seemed.  
And time travel was possible!

Apparently, it was very exhausting though.  
Emmett peeked out from behind his hands to stare at Marty slumped over in the seat of that fantastic car. He had been trying to explain more of what was needed to run it again and how it worked, but fatigue had caught up with him.

Asleep, Marty looked so young. It was hard to believe that the kid was eighteen.

Already Emmett knew he would do everything he could to bring Marty home again.

And he would actually make the time machine work! Or had he? And now he had to do it again! 

After one last glance at Marty, Emmett lowered his hands. 

Time to get to work.


End file.
